New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-05-02
THE MARGIN OF PROFIT.
LECTURE by EDWARD ATKINSON TO THE CENTRAL

LABOR UNION or BOSTON.
Boston, May Edward Atkinson lectured to-day II
New Era Hail before the Central Labor Union He sal.
In part:
labor; DOJustly., Love mercy. Walk humbly. These
There are none who need to think OF them more than
some Of you who try to prevent other men om gettnG
OF their liberty OF action. and who put bad name upon
them IL they don't do what you undertake to tell them
A great many of You work too hard and too long. Ma
one can deny that You don't get as good living you
might have There is no doubt about that. You don;
want to work more than eight hours day you help
dav IN orsr 40 10 Get dD wcr n more ta2 eigs hours
not coutrol your own time rs well as You can If You
There is one kind of work that know all about, and
that IS making cotton goods IN MILL have been work
ing about cotton mills way and another ever since
was boy When first went into store in 1912 the
men and women who worked in the cotton mills worked
gin TO make much cloth in day they do now while
they only earned half as much wages. The took
bigger slice out OF every yard for their profit than they
do now but the product was small that the big
slice ont or each yard did not make them very rich
1t just same in every other kind OF work then
as IL was in the cotton ml-lOnger hours harder work.
poorer pay too long too hard but Il took all that time
aud ali that labor food enough TO make cloth
enough or 10 get fuel enough to 20 around where t
took thirteen fourteen hours then it takes but
ten hours You Older men remember. Am not giving
you facts By-andby 1t will take less. / think ii very
likely that children will be able get just good
living. and perhaps better than you do by work
Ing eight hours day but they won't get 1t by acts OF
the Legislature
Nothing has become so cheap as cotton cloth. When
you buy 40 yards Of cotton cloth 81 so you pay the
Of the mill 10 profit but you also pay about
ID cents more TO other people for profit that 30 cents
profit in all; and you pay 81 so directly for labor
Five men and women-two cardng. two spinning, and
one weavng-can in day make eight yards of cloth
great deal coarser than this this Is equal to per-
sons work for five days 40 yards would take five times
much, 20 days and when you had the cloth you
crash towel if you could get anything else,
because Il would be so coarse and so rough; there.
fore you pay capitalist is cents profit on 40 yards
OF cloth, in order TO yourselves % days work
@ co s coaSs Mfs G Soa Sc
spun Who gets the best OF that bargain II work
1t out that the capitalist who owns the mill saves you
$3i 80 and charges you ID cents for doing It, have
taken cotton cloth as an example, and 1t is the worst ex
wholly approve OF the Organization OF labor What
ngTIeu NOV Is ViuD Oh sGpS ' o y oer.} StsD,
Labor. why not have Squires OF Work. IL Is great
blunder say that while the rich growing richer the
poor growing poorer; 1t is only the poor who can't
work well or who won't work well who grow poor while
the rich are growing rich I'm this country The best times
for the manufacturer the times when he makes the
most money, and they always when the wages are
highest and not when they the lowest because wage
earners are their principal and most important custom
Therefore tell YOU organize, organize but organ
ize the squres OF work. call in all the "scabs" TO join
with his hands or bis head, with his capital or his
own tools his own brains If he is honest and true
man.
There are things very much needed In these days
First for rich men to find how poor men iye second
talk about the rights OF labor. The poor man has no
rights than the rich What you want TO think
tell you here and that by the acts of the Legs-
atre which you tried for and of which have
Labor your clubs and associations which have
tried 10 force people 10 adopt driving capital out
country have managed their affairs fairly we with
out much regard your meddesome acts the result OF
head " their trades, 100 per cent better of to-day
than they were twenty years ago and more